1. Field
The present invention relates to vehicle wiring systems and components.
2. Description of the Invention Background
Vehicles, such as light-duty cars and trucks and heavy-duty tractor/trailers, can include ‘telematics’ systems that monitor the vehicle's location and diagnostic data. Such telematics systems typically include an in-vehicle telematics device that includes a conventional global positioning system (‘GPS’) that receives signals from orbiting satellites, and a processor that analyzes these signals to calculate a GPS ‘fix’. The fix features location-based data such as a vehicle's latitude, longitude, altitude, heading, and velocity, and typically describes the vehicle's location with an accuracy of about 10 meters or better.
In addition to the GPS, telematics devices typically include a wireless transmitter that sends location-based data through a wireless network, and an Internet-accessible website that displays the data.
Telematics devices can also monitor the host vehicle's diagnostic system. As an example of a diagnostic system, most light-duty automobiles and trucks beginning with model year 1996 include an on-board diagnostic (OBD) system as mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). OBD systems feature a network of in-vehicle sensors that monitor the vehicle's electrical, mechanical, and emissions systems, and in response generate data that are processed by the vehicle's engine control unit (ECU). The data are used, for example, to detect malfunctions or deterioration in the vehicle's performance. They are accessed from the ECU according to the following serial communication protocols: J1850 VPW (Ford); J1850 VPWM (General Motors); ISO 9141-2 (most Japanese and European vehicles); Keyword 2000 (some Mercedes and Hyundai vehicles); and CAN (a newer protocol used by many vehicles manufactured after 2004). Parameters within the data include vehicle speed (VSS), engine speed (RPM), engine load (LOAD), and mass air flow (MAF). The ECU can also generate diagnostic trouble codes (DTCs), which are 5-digit codes (e.g., ‘P0001’) indicating emissions-related problems with the vehicle.
Most vehicles manufactured after 1996 include a standardized, serial, sixteen-cavity connector, referred to herein as an ‘OBD connector’, that provides access to the above-mentioned data. The OBD connector serially communicates with the vehicle's ECU, and additionally provides power (approximately 12 volts) and ground. The OBD connector typically lies underneath the vehicle's dashboard. A conventional scan tool can be plugged into this OBD connector to retrieve diagnostic data from the vehicle's ECU.
While the core and pin-out of each OBD connector is universal and mandated by the EPA, the form factor, and particularly the plastic configuration around the connector's perimeter, typically varies by vehicle make. And even within a given make, the connector's form factor may vary for a given model.
Heavy-duty trucks typically include a diagnostic system, referred to herein as a ‘truck diagnostic system’, which is analogous to the OBD systems present in light-duty vehicles. Truck diagnostic systems typically operate a communication protocol called J1708/J1587 or CAN that collects diagnostic data from sensors distributed in the truck. As in light-duty vehicles, the truck's ECU processes these data, and then makes them available through a six or nine-pin connector, referred to herein as ‘the truck diagnostic connector’, typically located in the truck's interior. Again, a technician can obtain the data from the truck's ECU by plugging a conventional scan tool into the truck diagnostic connector.
In the past, a telematics device connected to the host vehicle's diagnostic connector was typically mounted within the vehicle. Unfortunately, such mounting arrangements make it convenient for thieves to simply remove or unplug the telematics device to thwart its vehicle tracking abilities.
In addition, during a repair process, the technician must unplug the telematics device from the vehicle's diagnostic connector so that a conventional scan can be plugged into that connector and retrieve diagnostic data from the vehicle's ECU. After the diagnostic material has been retrieved and the scan tool has been unplugged from the diagnostic connector, the technician must remember to reconnect the telematics device to the connector. The telematics device is rendered inoperative if the technician forgets to reconnect it to the OBD connector.
These are just a few of the problems associated with prior telematics and diagnostic monitoring systems employed in vehicles for monitoring the vehicle's location and diagnostic data.